فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Khalid El Ghomari, Director of the Sebou Hydraulic Basin Agency, announced that the dams under the agency’s jurisdiction have received nearly 600 million cubic meters of water due to recent rainfall in the region. This statement was made during a press briefing on the sidelines of the agency’s 2024 Board of Directors meeting, chaired by Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, on Monday in Fez.
El Ghomari explained that the filling rate of these dams has reached 44%, with water reserves nearing 2.7 billion cubic meters, representing 45% of the total reserves of dams nationwide. He noted that the Al Wahda Dam, one of the most important water infrastructures in the region, has reached a filling rate of 50%, equivalent to 1.6 billion cubic meters.
El Ghomari emphasized the ministry’s efforts to improve water quality in the Sebou Basin and combat all forms of pollution, highlighting that 1.3 million cubic meters of water are transferred daily from the Sebou Basin to the Bouregreg Basin to supply the cities of Rabat, Casablanca, and neighboring areas with drinking water.
The official revealed that five dams are currently under construction in the basin, with a total investment of 10 billion dirhams. These include the M’dez Dam, which is nearly complete in the Sefrou province (700 million cubic meters), the Koudiat Borna Dam in Sidi Kacem (12 million cubic meters), the Sidi Abbou Dam (200 million cubic meters), and the Ratba Dam (1.9 billion cubic meters) in the Taounate province, with completion rates ranging between 87% and 33%. Additionally, the Ribat El Kheir Dam is being built in Sefrou (124 million cubic meters).
Once completed, these projects are expected to increase the total storage capacity of the basin’s facilities to 8.14 billion cubic meters, up from the current 6.1 billion cubic meters, an increase of over 2 billion cubic meters, according to data released on this occasion.
The Sebou Basin includes 11 large dams and 51 small dams and hill lakes. Among these structures, the Al Wahda Dam plays a pivotal role in irrigating the Gharb Plain and protecting it from the devastating floods of the Ouergha River.
Covering an area of approximately 40,000 square kilometers, the Sebou Basin is considered one of the most important basins in the Kingdom, with its agricultural and industrial economy significantly contributing to the national economy. The basin’s average annual rainfall is 600 mm, with a maximum of 1,000 mm per year in the Rif highlands and a minimum of 300 mm in the upper Sebou and Beht valleys.
